Scandal Episode 18

As Ha Eun Joong introduces himself, both he and Soo Young wonder why Hwa Young is dissolving into tears.

 

Fake Eun Joong meets with Kang Ho (at the river, natch) and hands over to the minion a second pair of the same cuff links. Kang Ho is to turn them in as the hard evidence against himself.

 

Tears still spilling from her eyes, Hwa Young allows Real Eun Joong to question her about the case. As he looks through his notebook she can see where he's doodled penguins on the pages. She offers to take him out to lunch but he opts out of it. Instead, Real Eun Joong takes Soo Young and Ah Mi out to lunch. Hwa Young runs out a side door (that I didn't even know the building had) in order to secretly watch her son as he walks down the crowded sidewalk.

 

Soo Young asks why her boss was crying earlier and had asked to see a picture of Eun Joong. Ah Mi, who knows everything, says nothing. Back at the office Hwa Young is putting everything together at lightning speed. She goes into Fake Eun Joong's office and breaks into his desk where she finds the evidence that he's known all along who Real Eun Joong is.

 

As Ah Mi and Eun Joong are walking back to the law firm there's some guy on a bike who is out of control and about to run over them. Ah Mi leaps to pull Eun Joong out of the way. Eun Joong ends up pushing her out of the way. There's some skinship whichever way you go. Eun Joong, who's probably never been manhandled by a woman before, starts yelling at Ah Mi for putting herself in danger. Ah Mi goes to help the guy on the bike which gives Eun Joong time to do the Stare of Burgeoning Love.

 

Myeong Geun is off somewhere trying to donate his corneas after he dies.

 

At home, Joo Ha tells Hwa Young that Myeong Geun was the kidnapper from years ago. Of course Hwa Young isn't surprised by this news. What does shock her is hearing it was Kang Ho who told Joo Ha about Myeong Geun.

 

Meanwhile in another part of the house, the menfolk are having their own meeting about what to do about Real Eun Joong. At least I learn what Fake Eun Joong was doing on the computer in the last episode. He was transferring a large amount of money from Kang Ho's account into Real Eun Joong's account. This will make it look like the reason Real Eun Joong released Kang Ho was because he had been bribed.

 

Hwa Young overhears this dastardly plan against her son. Fake Eun Joong catches sight of her eavesdropping and he slips away to speak with her. Hwa Young speaks with her hand, smacking him several times upside the head. Since the cat is out of the bag, Fake admits he had found his mother's real son and now he's going to destroy Real Eun Joong. Hwa Young tells him, "Don't touch my son, you understand?" This gets Fake in the heart the way she said "my son." He screams at her, "I'm Jang Eun Joong! Jang Eun Joong!" (Is no one in the house hearing all this yelling?) Hwa Young again begs her not-son to stop what he plans to do to Real Eun Joong or else she'll go to Tae Ha and tell him the truth.

 

In the other part of the house that can't hear all the Jang Eun Joong shouting, Kang Ho tells his boss that Ha Myeong Geun is the Other Man.

 

Joo Ha "breaks up" with Real Eun Joong (and thank goodness for that).

 

As usual with this show, we get a musical interlude.

 

Using the address on the legal paperwork, Hwa Young is tracking down where Ah Mi lives. She doesn't realize she's being followed by Tae Ha. Outside the front door Hwa Young is shocked to see the Ha Myeong Geun nameplate hanging by the gate. Tae Ha is about to get out of his car when he notices his nemesis/real son, Eun Joong, walking up. Real Eun Joong keeps asking Hwa Young why she's here. She wasn't expecting Eun Joong to be here but since he is it's a good time to warn him about the set-up.

 

Neither one sees Tae Ha sitting in his car. After his wife leaves and Eun Joong goes inside, Tae Ha sprints up the steps to confront the cop when he notices the nameplate. Only now does he realize that Ha Myeong Geun and Ha Eun Joong are related (not).

 

The next morning at the breakfast table Tae Ha is giving everyone a lecture on secrets and lies before he asks Hwa Young why she was meeting with Real Eun Joong last night. She lies that she was telling him about her car's black box being reset. Tae Ha doesn't believe her and starts yelling about her meeting Myeong Geun, the kidnapper of their son. Joo Ha intervenes and explains Hwa Young has been meeting with Myeong Geun because he's the whistle blower. Tae Ha has another one of his throw-everything-on-the-floor fits.

 

Real Eun Joong makes an appointment to meet with Kang Joo Pil. There's stuff about Joo Ha and Jin Woong but you know what, I don't care. Plus Viki has been giving me a pain. Internal Affairs, following an anonymous tip, start their investigation of Detective Ha Eun Joong.

 

Myeong Geun gets an unexpected visit from Hwa Young. She doesn't say anything but spits in his face.

Eva Luna Episode 1

It's all about the Venezuelan telenovelas, baby. Although this one is also not filmed anywhere near Venezuela. Is there a reason Venezuelan dramas aren't made in Venezuela? Anyway, you can watch Eva Luna over on Viki.

 

 

The story takes place in California (although the end credits give much thanks to Miami). Our two main protagonists live lives polar opposite of each other. Poor yet hardworking Eva Gonzalez works alongside her beloved father in the apple orchards. Handsome and successful Daniel Villanueva drives sleek sports cars and works in an air-conditioned office at Arismendi Advertising. (Any relation to the Arismendi clan in Wild Cat?)

 

Eva loves her father but he drops many hints that there is a big secret in the past. His wife abandoned him and their two daughters. Recently he received word that his errant wife might be living in Los Angeles and so he packs up Eva and sister Alicia to head off to the big city. (He hasn't told the girls yet just why he wants to suddenly move to L.A.)

 

Now lets see what Daniel's world is like. It's pretty good from what I can see. At the advertising agency he works alongside his best friend, Leonardo Arismendi. Leonardo is tall, dark, and mmm-mm. His beautiful sister Victoria has been dating Daniel for five long years. She's hoping that he'll finally be over his dead wife and get around to asking her to be Mrs. Villanueva 2.

 

The president of the company is Marcela Arismendi. You can tell she's evil because she's lathered in makeup, fires a single mother, and wears one black glove. I'm not sure if something has happened to her hand or if she's simply a big fan of Michael Jackson.

 

The owner of the company, Julio Arismendi, is ill and stuck at home. He drives around in a Hoveround, wears silk pajamas from the Hugh Hefner collection, and hangs around with a mean dog. Speaking of dogs, Julio wants to divorce Marcela but she keeps slipping him drugs in order to keep control of him.

 

The Gonzalez clan is now in Los Angeles and Eva is looking for a job. A neighbor helps her get one as a masseuse (something Eva has never done before) and that's how she meets Daniel for the first time. Eva does a terrible job on him. He complains to the owner and Eva is fired.

 

Dad thinks he's found his wife's location. He asks Eva to accompany him, saying only he'll explain everything when they get there. They're walking along the road when Dad is run over and killed by a red sports car. The driver is tall, dark and Leonardo who quickly leaves the scene of the accident.

 

When next we see Daniel he and Leonardo are attending a car show. One of the models is Eva who recognizes Daniel as the man who got her fired. They fight in between giving each other long and deep stares. Once again Eva gets fired and blames Daniel.

 

Leonardo, partly feeling guilty and partly wanting to work his way into her pants, offers Eva a job as a personal assistant to his ailing father. Marcela is at first not at all happy that this strange girl has been hired without her permission. She changes her attitude once she comes up with the plan to frame Eva for Julio's death.

 

As Eva is leaving the big house for the evening the head housekeeper (who doesn't like Eva at all) let's Julio's mean dog loose to chase the new girl. Eva runs like the dickens, scrambles over the high fence, and stumbles into the road, nearly getting hit by Daniel's car.

Scandal Episode 17

Real Eun Joong makes arrangements to meet with (his real mother) Hwa Young at her house to talk about Gong Gi Chan's death. After that, Myeong Geun makes arrangements to meet with her on Thursday to have a lengthy chat. They discuss his health crisis and how he plans to not tell the kids since there's nothing they can do to about it. Hwa Young offers to be Myeong Geun's friend since she's the only one who knows about his terminal disease. Ooh, and then she reaches over and holds his hand.

We'll see if she still wants to be his friend after Thursday.

Crap, I forgot about Kang Ho hanging out in the bushes with his camera. He takes several shots of Hwa Young comforting Myeong Geun. As he looks back through the pictures he's taken, Kang Ho appears to just now recognize who the other man is.

Real Eun Joong drops by the Jang estate. Joo Ha thinks he's here to see her. Eun Joong suggests they hold hands like a real couple to continue fooling people with their relationship. Tae Ha (who has finally gotten his roots touched up) blows a gasket and orders the young siblings to stop touching each other this instant. Hwa Young isn't home yet so it's up to Tae Ha, Joo Ha and Fake Eun Joong to give an uncomfortable welcome to their unwanted guest and his talk about evidence and murder.

Tae Ha starts overacting and shouting "I'm Jang Tae Ha! King Kong ain't got shit on me!" Real Eun Joong keeps his cool and reveals he does have shit on Tae Ha: a photo image of him and Kang Ho in Hwa Young's car near the construction site. Fake Eun Joong can do nothing but squirm in his seat.

Myeong Geun and Ah Mi are at home waiting for the others to show up for dinner. She lets Dad #1 know she overheard the conversation between him and Fake Eun Joong. Ah Mi urges Myeong Geun to tell Real Eun Joong the truth. There's a long flashback (AKA padding) as Myeong Geun explains what happened with the building collapse, the death of his real son Geon Young, and the eventual kidnapping of Eun Joong. 

Hwa Young, with Kang Ho driving, has just arrived home. She doesn't even have time to get out of the car before Fake Eun Joong suddenly jumps behind the wheel and speeds off so she's unable to meet Real Eun Joong face to face. Man, how long are they going to drag this out? Real Eun Joong tries to call Hwa Young but Fake Eun Joong begs her not to answer her phone. 

Tae Ha goes to his office and has the mother of all crack ups: throwing things around, shouting Real Eun Joong's name, and even beating the crap out of Kang Ho. Joo Ha and Real Eun Joong don't hear any of this because they're outside in his car. Joo Ha conveys her worry for Real Eun Joong because he's dared to tangle with her rich and powerful father and the lowly peasant is doomed to failure. It's just the way of the world. Nice morals you got there, Joo Ha.

Fake Eun Joong has taken his not-mother back to their law office where he explains his strange behavior. He claims Real Eun Joong is a delusional cop who is trying to pin a murder on Tae Ha. Fake Eun Joong pleads with Hwa Young to never ever ever meet with Detective Ha Eun Joong ever. Oh, and can he have a copy of her car's black box? Hwa Young hesitates for a moment before claiming the contents of the black box have already been deleted. They're both lying to each other and they both know they're lying to each other.

Next up we have a painful scene. After the Ha's and Ah Mi have dinner, they all pile up and go out to a noraebang. Must. Hit. Mute. Button. As Myeong Geun is singing, we get a brief glance of his pain-riddled face that he's hiding from his kids. 

Joo Ran is upset that Hwa Young hasn't stuck to their agreement and divorced Tae Ha. In fact, Hwa Young is sleeping in the same bedroom as her husband, just not the same bed. Joo Ran is back to threatening to tell Tae Ha the truth about Fake Eun Joong. Out in the reception area Joo Ran has a run in with Ah Mi. My girl holds her own against this old hag. 

Joo Ha and Kang Joo Pil are shocked and displeased to see the coveted president's position has been filled by Jo Jin Woong. 

Joo Ran meets with Fake Eun Joong and proposes they work together to find the real Eun Joong (not realizing Fake already has) before Hwa Young does. Joo Ran preys on Fake's weakness, saying both Tae Ha and Hwa Young will immediately abandon Fake for the real deal. 

Tae Ha is up on the incredibly lime green roof having a meeting with Joo Pil. He orders the ex-reporter to do something, anything, to get rid of that annoying Detective Ha. Joo Pil thinks to himself how if he does do anything to Tae Ha's real son then he's up Shit Creek without a paddle. Suddenly they're interrupted by Fake Eun Joong who asks for the responsibility of taking care of Real Eun Joong. (Does Joo Pil know that Fake Eun Joong knows that Real Eun Joong is real?) Anyway, they're going to sacrifice Kang Ho and have him turn himself in claiming he acted alone without his boss's knowledge or consent. 

(I have to wonder about these DramaMinions and how willing they are to do anything and everything for their employers like going to prison and/or murdering people. Has there ever been a drama told from the minion's point of view? I think that would be more interesting. Look into that, Korea.)

Real Eun Joong (in uniform!) meets with Deputy Chief Whatshisname to request being reinstated to his old position. He's reunited with his slacker partner whose name I still don't know.

Kang Ho, his head bandaged up from his last beating, is waiting in Tae Ha's home office to show the pictures on the camera. Instead in comes Joo Ha who insists on seeing what Kang Ho has been taking pictures of. When she sees the pictures Joo Ha orders Kang Ho not to show them to her father or he'll have a hissy fit. Kang Ho explains that the man in the picture is the kidnapper from 1988. Joo Ha asks for time to think about this and to not tell Tae Ha anything for the moment. 

Now that he's short on time, Myeong Geun starts having a warmer and closer relationship with Real Eun Joong. 

Tae Ha apologizes to Kang Ho for beating the stuffing out of him. In the next breath he throws Kang Ho under the bus and orders his minion to go to prison for thirty or so years. 

Real Eun Joong is shocked when Kang Ho calmly walks into the police station and fesses up to everything he really has done so far: killing Gi Chan, blowing up the apartment, attacking Eun Joong, and littering. Real Eun Joong refuses the accept the confession siting some legal stuff about there being no hard evidence. Eun Joong wants Tae Ha, not little fish like Kang Ho.

Fake Eun Joong is doing something on his computer but I don't read hangul so I have no idea what he's doing. It's not good whatever it is.

At the law firm, Hwa Young has asked Soo Young if she has a picture of her brother. Soo Young brings in a family photo she keeps on her desk. Just as Hwa Young is staring at the picture, Real Eun Joong has come to the office to have that meeting they didn't get to have the other night. Real mother and real son are finally face to face.

Wild Cat Episode 16

I am such an addict. I need an intervention.

Camelia runs straight to Eva to tell her frenemy the "good news" about Rosaura being pregnant with Luis Mario's baby. Eva threatens the wild cat with telling Patricio about what his wife has been up to. 

Eduarda tells Luis Mario about him being abandoned in a box on the beach by his birth mother and he's not really a high-falutin Arismendi. Eduarda quickly forgets all those decades she thought of him as a brother and wants Luis Mario to vacate the premises immediately. 

Aunt Claudia advises Rosaura to disappear until she has her baby before Patricio finds out and has one of his patented freak outs. Rosaura doesn't want to tell Luis Mario about the baby. Luis Mario goes to confront his birth mother, Mercedez. She says she has an explanation but argh, I don't get to hear it. Camelia tells Patricio about Rosaura's pregnancy. He has one of his patented freak outs. Luis Mario packs his bags and goes to crash at Gabriel's place. (Luis Mario also makes some reference to his arm being hurt although I don't know how it happened.)

When Rosaura hears about Luis Mario being kicked off the estate, she plans to do her own eviction of Eduarda. Remember, the estate is technically Rosaura's until the family pays the loan back. She throws Eduarda out and moves herself and her annoying little sister in so they can get away from Patricio. However Patricio finds his runaway bride and tries to force her to come back with him. She's rescued by a gun-wielding (and buff) field hand who orders Patricio to unhand that maiden! 

Rosaura hires Bruno the Lifeguard to be the new manager of the Arismendi ranch. Luis Mario is involved in an automobile accident so the show can introduce a new character, Maribella Tovar, a professional model. It's not long before they're making out. Patricio gets Thug-For-Hire to capture Rosaura and tie her to a tree. 

You're not going to believe this. Well, yeah, it's a telenovela so you probably will. As Rosaura is left out in the wilds tied to a tree, a parachutist drops down from the sky and frees her. (So far she's had a man delivered to her by a plane crash, jumping out of a helicopter, and now parachuting down. I can only surmise that a UFO will beam down her next macho love interest.) 

Gabriel finally confesses to Luis Mario that he is probably the real father of Eva's son. Luis Mario insists on a paternity test but Eva screeches that she won't have it and that Gabriel is lying. Valeria, some girl I've never seen on the show before, suggests to Eva to pretend to have a nervous breakdown to distract Luis Mario from going after the test.

Rosaura's savior, Silvano, is the owner of a modeling agency. Ah, I can see where this is going. He invites Rosaura to a party he's throwing for one of his models. Maribella is Silvano's ex-wife as well as his model but they seem to have had an amicable split. Luis Mario and Maribella make out at the party while Rosaura once again swears vengeance against him. 

Eva is out on a balcony with the baby, acting all crazy like she's about to toss the little tyke over the side. (I'm actually quite nervous about this scene as I don't know if Venezuelan TV will go that dark or not.) Thankfully the baby is retrieved from her and a psychiatrist is called in. Luis Mario is smart enough to wonder if this whole crazy act is just that - an act. 

Patricio offers to give back the spa and the mansion to Grandma Cruz if Rosaura will give herself to him.

Wildcat 11 - 15

Rosaura finally tells Grandma Cruz the truth about who she is so Grandma won't sell the spa to Patricio. Luis Mario wakes up naked in Eva's bed with her claiming they had wild and unprotected sex. She's hoping Gabriel's little swimmers were powerful enough to get her knocked up so she can claim the child is Luis Mario's. Diego, the fake psychiatrist who helped Camelia fake her amnesia, has come to town and is demanding money to keep his mouth shut. He and Camelia fight over a gun with Camelia being shot and her life now hanging by a thread. Luis Mario's youngest sister, Jimena, has run off with Rosaura's ne'er-do-well brother Ivan. Luis Mario is able to track the couple down and force his underage sister back to the house where she discloses she's pregnant. Ivan needs money to get Jimena back so he's easily talked into pulling a robbery on the spa. Eva's father, Rafael, joins the spa and keeps flirting with Rosaura. Seeing how this is driving Eva crazy, Rosaura encourages the flirtation.

(I'm going to digress here for a moment because this reminds me of a real life telenovela moment from the past. A friend of mine who was married at the time was having an affair with this loser. As soon as she got a divorce from her husband, the loser started two-timing on her by seeing the mother of one of his children. (He had numerous children by numerous women and paid for none of them. Thus a loser.) To get back at the other woman, my friend then started to date the woman's aged father. Things went sour fast until one night the old man tossed my friend out of his house with only the clothes on her and her kid's back. So let this be a lesson to you, kids. If your life starts to resemble a telenovela, you need to back the hell up and get some kind of control over yourself. Now, back to the soap opera.)

At Rafael's birthday party, Eva announces to the guests that she and Luis Mario are to be married and are expecting a child. Through the miracle of modern medicine and editing, Camelia, who was barely alive last episode, is now healthy and living with Gabriel. She and Rosaura become allies. That thug-for-hire that's always doing the dirty work in this show has now been hired by Camelia to destroy the crops so that the Arismendi's are once again facing a financial crisis. Rosaura offers to loan Luis Mario money but insists the estate be put up for collateral. The planned robbery of the spa goes terribly wrong. As he's fleeing the scene of the crime, brother Ivan is run over (and I do mean over) by a Land Rover and he may never walk again. Sister Carina is being harassed by Julio, the inept hitman Patricio hired earlier. Julio corners Carina and attempts to rape her. She does put up quite a fight, I will give her that, and ends up killing the guy. Rosaura takes the blame to protect her sister and goes to jail for murder.

Don't get too stressed out by this storyline as almost immediately afterwards, at least by this editing, Carina can't take the guilt and confesses she is the real killer. Rosaura quickly puts her prison time behind her and gets back to forcing Luis Mario to accept a loan from her. Surprisingly it is Patricio who tries to stop his brother-in-law from signing the papers, pointing out that it was more than likely Rosaura who was behind the destroyed crops. They need the money, though, so Luis Mario reluctantly signs the legal papers.

Luis Mario's divorce from Camelia is finalized so he faces getting married to Eva. They're having a small ceremony at the estate when Rosaura bursts in. She interrupts the proceedings by telling Luis Mario that is was Eva who caused the accident that made her miscarry their child. Still believing the baby Eva is carrying is his, Luis Mario chooses to go through with the wedding.

Somewhere along the way (must be on the cutting room floor) Patricio and Camelia have started hanging out again. What happened to his revenge on her? Was that also edited out?

Time skip six months. The due date of the loan. Luis Mario is unable to pay her back so Rosaura is now the owner of the Arismendi estate. In triumph Rosaura goes to the big house and offers Eduarda a deal: she'll give it all back if Eduarda gets down on her knees and begs. Eduarda gives a half-hearted attempt at begging. Rosaura simply laughs and refuses to honor the bargain. She's keeping the house and they all have to go. For the final icing on the cake, Rosaura delights in telling Eduarda how her husband has a lover. Eduarda admits she's known for six months that Patricio has been cheating on her. Ah, but Rosaura can put a name to the other woman: Camelia.

Rosaura has a private meeting with Luis Mario where she backtracks on everything. She's not going to throw the Arismendi's out on the street and she's going to give him two years to pay back the loan. So all this was just to get Eduarda down on her knees?

Eduarda demands a divorce from her cheating husband. Patricio is like, "Fine, I was thinking of divorcing you anyway (slap slap)." But when Luis Mario returns with the good news that the estate is still in the family, Patricio thinks perhaps he was a little too premature with those slaps.

We whiz through Carina's trial (thank goodness) where she's found innocent. She's not out of trouble for long, though. Patricio (newly divorced) plants some evidence in Carina's purse and frames her for stealing from his office. He'll drop the charges against Carina only if Rosaura agrees to marry him.

(In another sacrifice to the Editing God, somewhere along the way Jimena has lost Ivan's baby.)

Rosaura reluctantly flies to Las Vegas so she and Patricio can have a quickie wedding. (If the producers wanted to make this look a little more authentic they should have had someone dress up as Elvis to marry the couple.) Patricio moves himself and his lover, Camelia, into Grandma Cruz's mansion. 

A new character is introduced, Mercedez Salazar. She's an older woman who will be the tutor to Rosaura's annoying little sister. Mercedez's has a young niece, Adrianita, who can barely keep her shirt on. Mercedez infodumps to her niece about how her first born son was taken away from her and her second son she abandoned on the beach. You sound like a peach, Mercedez.

Patricio forces Grandma Cruz to sign over the spa and the mansion to him. Mercedez continues her hunt for the son she abandoned. She claims she only wants to know if he's alive and well. Cue dramatic music: Mercedez is told her son is now called Luis Mario Arismendi. Mercedez has no plans to spring the truth on Luis Mario but her sister Marcela has other ideas.

While Rosaura and Luis Mario are off making sweet love in the outdoors (look out for that cactus!), Eva is going into labor. Somewhere between trying to have her killed and forcing her to marry him, Patricio is shocked to realize he's fallen in love with Rosaura and swears she will be his. Rosaura learns that romp in the hay with Luis Mario has gotten her pregnant. Camelia overhears this news and runs straight to Eva.

Scandal Episode 16

After a moment of leaning on Myeong Geun for support, in more ways than one, Hwa Young gets a hold of herself and decides to get some fresh air. Myeong Geun at least sees her to the door. Joo Ha catches sight of the couple and wonders to herself how Mom #2 knows Dad #1. Real Eun Joong also sees his not-father and wonders why Dad #1 is here. Jeez, everybody comes to this hotel. It's so fancy it even has vases in the elevators. Poor people like me aren't used to that.

 

Anyway, Myeong Geun goes back up to meet with Joo Pil and shows the ex-reporter the notebook with the bribery list written in it. Joo Pil isn't satisfied and demands the USB. Myeong Geun cagily doesn't say he doesn't have it, just that he doesn't trust Joo Pil with it, which is also the truth. He asks Joo Pil for a little more time so he can tell Real Eun Joong the truth about not being his son. Until then, Myeong Geun warns no harm should come to Eun Joong or Ah Mi. As Myeong Geun leaves the room he's surprised to find Real Eun Joong outside. I don't know why he's surprised. The door is made of glass. He should have clearly seen Eun Joong standing on the other side.

 

Jang Tae Ha is beginning to suspect that his wife is meeting another man at the hospital. (Which is actually kind of smart. No one would suspect lovers hooking up in a hospital waiting room. Or even better the pharmacy. Remember this, kids, next time you're stepping out on your Significant Other.) Tae Ha orders Kang Ho to be extra vigilant at the hospital.

 

It's an awkward drive back home to the Ha House. Real Eun Joong proclaims he'll sleep in the car. He asks if the grave next to Mom's is Myeong Geun's real son. Oh, so he heard part of the conversation through the glass door. So now he knows Dad #1 isn't biologically his dad, but he doesn't know yet about the whole kidnapping story.

 

Myeong Geun is sitting dejected on the front steps when Woo Ah Mi and Fake Eun Joong come home. Fake asks Ah Mi to allow him to have a word alone with the old man. Ah Mi is just barely inside the gate when Fake starts shouting about how he knows Myeong Geun is the kidnapper and that Real Eun Joong is the real Eun Joong so what is the old man going to do? And Ah Mi (and probably half the neighborhood) is hearing all this.

 

It's an awkward morning at the Ha House. Myeong Geun has been up all night. Ah Mi doesn't know what to say or do about what she knows. Soo Young simply continues to be annoying and wondering where her not-brother is. At least Real Eun Joong has been at the office checking out the contents on the USB that cost Gi Chan his life. And now the Prodigal Son has returned.

 

Over at the Jang House Joo Ha is still trying to break up her engagement by insisting on dating Real Eun Joong. Fake Eun Joong blows a gasket and yells at her he told her to stop seeing that guy so she'd better stop and I mean now! Tae Ha thinks its just the pressure of the case getting to his not-son. Oh, look who has returned to the fold - it's Hwa Young moving back in. Once she's able to get a word in edgewise, Hwa Young lets Tae Ha know she's still going to handle the case against him. It's for his own good.

 

Myeong Geun doesn't know where to start with this hard talk but that's okay as Real Eun Joong is the one who does all the talking. He confesses that he's known since high school that he wasn't really Myeong Geun's son. Still thinking he's simply been adopted, Real Eun Joon assures Dad #1 that he's not going to look for his birth parents and wants to continue being Myeong Geun's son and Soo Young's older brother. Myeong Geun is overcome with emotion and doesn't tell the full story.

 

Joo Ran shows her daughter the picture on her cell phone of Hwa Young and Myeong Geun, asking if the two are having an affair. Joo Ha instead realizes Myeong Geun must be the whistle blower her father is so anxious to find.

 

Fake Eun Joong is back to begging Hwa Young to stop looking for her real son. She correctly assumes this means Fake must have found the real son although Fake lies and says he hasn't. Fake quickly calls the Dick Detective to tell him that if Hwa Young calls to ask (and she does) to lie and say the search is still on.

 

Real Eun Joong is at his office checking out video of all the vehicles that were near the construction site at the time of Gi Chan's death when he receives a surprise visit from Fake Eun Joong. Naturally they can't stay in the office and talk. I figure this means another trip up to the roof (it's a Kdrama after all) but no, they simply go outside.

 

Fake first hints that Real doesn't know his father (Myeong Geun) as well as he thinks he does, then Fake asks the odd question of does Real still draw emperor penguins. Real is like, "Penguins? What the hell are you talking about?" So therefore Fake changes the subject and warns Real to not allow Myeong Geun to meet Tae Ha as that will put Dad #1 in danger since he's the whistle blower.

 

Speaking of Myeong Geun, the doctor confirms he's got terminal cancer and has about three months to live. Out at the pharmacy Myeong Geun figures why bother to get his prescription filled since he's dying so he stuffs the paper in the trash basket. This is the time when Hwa Young happens to see him but he doesn't see her. She pulls the paper out of the basket and wonders why he didn't get his medicine filled. Being a Nosey Nellie, Hwa Young easily convinces a nurse to tell her all about Myeong Geun's terminal diagnosis.

 

Myeong Geun is sitting outside on a bench, his shoulders bent in weariness, which is where Hwa Young finds him. She doesn't alert him to her presence as she only wants to look at him with concern.

 

At the same time Real Eun Joong has made a breakthrough with all the videos. He's spotted a car with a license plate that is registered to Yoon Hwa Young. He calls her cell phone. The ringing is what causes Myeong Geun to look up and see her standing nearby. She hurriedly answers the phone and gets that wide-eyed look to hear the caller identify himself as Detective Ha Eun Joong. She keeps asking, "You're name is Eun Joong?" He tells her he's calling about a case she may have a connection to and he needs to meet her.

Three Kingdoms Episode 46

We're back to the touchy alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan. (Or rather Zhou Yu and his insane obsession with Zhuge Liang.) The Southland party all figure Liu Bei is preparing to attack Nanjun which is the key to the entire Jing province. Zhou Yu wants Baby Bouncer to attack. There's no way Liu Bei will win as he doesn't have enough men or materiel. What he will do, however, is soften up Nanjun's defenses, allowing Zhou Yu to sweep in and seize the day.

 

Zhou Yu orders a generous supply of grain to be sent to Liu Bei's camp. They are indeed preparing for an attack on Nanjun. Zhang Fei has his shirt off to show off his shoulders as he works with the other men on ladders. Zhao Yun is there but once again he only has one line and that is to tell Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang about the grain being delivered. Baby bouncer is immediately suspicious and orders all their preparations to be hidden so he can be like, "What attack? We're not getting ready to attack anything except some peaches ready to be harvested."

Just then one of those anonymous soldiers runs up shouting, "Report!" He tells Liu Bei about Liu Qi being ill and thinking about going back home. Zhou Yu's man returns to tell the general that if Liu Qi and his forces are there with Liu Bei this could change everything. Zhou Yu decides to go see for himself and makes a formal visit to the Baby Bouncer.

Liu Bei has to put on a big production to welcome the visitors. Zhou Yu inquires as to why Liu Qi isn't here to meet him. Liu Bei explains the other man is very ill and is unable to leave his bed. Zhou Yu was ready for this and points out he's brought one of the foremost physicians with him; they'd better go check Liu Qi out and now.

Whaddya know, Liu Qi is there and he is quite ill. As they leave the young man to rest, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu have a private dinner together. Of course the subject is going to touch upon Nanjun. Zhuge Liang, knowing how to push all of Zhou Yu's buttons, claims they had been thinking of attacking Nanjun no matter what the cost in order to create a buffer for the Southlands. Zhou Yu boasts that he will attack the city and take it in thirty days or his name is mud.

Of course this is all a trick. Liu Bei wants Zhou Yu to attack first and soften up the city's defenses so he can be the one to swoop in and take the day.

We now switch to outside the gates of Nanjun as 5,000 of the enemy are forming up. Cao Ren has one of his subordinates take out 500 of their men to meet the enemy. Alright, action time! I've missed these battle scenes. Ooh, somebody lost a foot. The subordinate may be fat but he's got some moves in him. While these 500 men are eventually wiped out, Cao Ren has the fever now to get out there and fight. He believes the enemy are exhausted and can be easily defeated. He orders up his entire force of men to go outside the gates and engage in battle.

This works the first time and Cao Ren is victorious as he returns to the city, the grounds around the walls littered with dead bodies of men and horses. However here comes Zhou Yu with reinforcements to lay siege. More battle scenes. I believe these are re-runs but I'll take them. Launch those fire balls!

Cao Ren reluctantly orders his forces to abandon the city once night falls. Zhou Yu orders his men to capture Cao Ren alive.